Genealogy Ebooks By Royal Letter, dated 8th February 1563-4, Mr. James Balfour, Parson of Flisk, Edward Henryson, Doctor of Laws, Clement Little, Advocate, and Robert Maitland were appointed first Commissaries of Edinburgh. The first volume of their Proceedings which is now extant commences on 15th October 1567, but from a Chronological Index, prepared several years ago by the Rev. Hew Scott, a few entries for the years 1514 and 1532 have been obtained, and from the Minute-Book a fragment of the contents of an earlier volume, commencing 3rd May 1564 and ending…]]> By Royal Letter, dated 8th February 1563-4, Mr. James Balfour, Parson of Flisk, Edward Henryson, Doctor of Laws, Clement Little, Advocate, and Robert Maitland were appointed first Commissaries of Edinburgh. The first volume of their Proceedings which is now extant commences on 15th October 1567, but from a Chronological Index, prepared several years ago by the Rev. Hew Scott, a few entries for the years 1514 and 1532 have been obtained, and from the Minute-Book a fragment of the contents of an earlier volume, commencing 3rd May 1564 and ending…]]> The District included in this Commissariot contains the Parishes of Hamilton, Cadder, Cathcart (part of), Govan, Gorbals, Old Monkland, New Monkland, Dalserf, East Kilbride, and Shotts, in the County of Lanark; the Parish of Cardross, in Dumbartonshire, Campsie and Baldernock, in Stirlingshire, and Renfrew, in Renfrewshire. In the first volume the Testaments are not always strictly recorded in chronological order of confirmation. The following Index contains a list of all Testaments recorded.]]> The District comprised within the Comraissariot of St. Andrews includes the County of Fife, with possibly the exception of the Parishes of Carnock. Saline, Culross, and Tulliallan ; the County of Kinross, with the exception of Fossaway ; the following Parishes in Forfarshire,—Aberlemno, Airlie, Arbirlot, Arbroath, Barry, Craig, Dun, Eassie, Edzell, Forfar, Glamis, Inverarity, Inverkeillour, Kettins, Kingoldrum, Kinnell, Kinnettles, Kirkden, Kirriemuir, Liff and Benvie, Lintrathen, Logie-Pert, Lunan, Lundie, Mains…]]> Volume 1a. has been deliberately destroyed some time previous to its transmission to the Lord Register's Department, the pages having been cut out about an inch from the binding, so that only a small part of the Testaments now remains, in many cases only the rubric. The names of many of these Testaments are now lost, and of others only fragments remain. These, as far as it has been found possible to recover them, have been included in an Appendix at the end of the General Index. In addition to the above volumes there are three bundles of unrecorded…]]> The Register of Testaments, if one ever existed, is not in the custody of the Lord Clerk Register. The original Warrants, fortunately, have been preserved, and consist of twelve bundles, covering the period from 1700 to 1823. The names of such, down to the year iSoo, are included in this Index. There are also, in addition. Edicts for the same period ; Extracted Processes, 1700 to 1822 ; and Unextracted Processes, 1704 to 1822.]]> There is no Register of Testaments previous to 17th March 1809, when a Record of Confirmations begins, and is continued till 20th December 1823. There exists a number of papers relating to Executries, consisting of Scroll Testaments, Inventories, Edicts, Bonds of Caution, &c., from, the year 1663. These are arranged in bundles under their different years, and all down to 1800 are included in this Index. The other Records preserved in the Register House are Processes, 1665 to 1823, with Index. Record of Inventories, 1809 to 1823, with Index.…]]> Three Testaments of the years 1622-3 are recorded at the end of a volume entitled Register of Deeds, 1661-1679. The other Records in the hands of the Lord Clerk-Register consist of— Testaments, 25 June 1803 to 20 July 1827. Act or Roll Book, 1801 to 1803. Edicts, 1800 to 1833. Bonds of Caution, 1822 to 1833. Inventories, 1812 to 18x9. Process, 1819 to 1831. Summonses, 1807 to 1822. Petitions, 1821 to 1833. Miscellaneous.]]> The Register of Testaments is contained in twenty volumes, and covers the following periods : — 1595 to 27th September 1602. 23rd October 1620 to 25th January 1627. 8th September 1628 to nth June 1636. 26th February 1638 to 2nd May 1639 and 15th July 1643 2Sth February 1650 24th July 1 66 1 I ith January 1665 22nd February 1668 nth February 1673 to 23rd August 1644. to 1st November 1658. to nth January 1665. to 17th February 1668. to 17th October 1671. to 30th October 1677. 4th November 1677 to 12th April 1682. 1 2th April 1682 to 31st October…]]> The Register of Testaments, which contains many gaps, was formerly contained in twenty-three volumes, but is now bound up in sixteen, viz. : — 1. 14th March 1576 to 17th March 1602. 2. 15th August 1609 to 13th February 1613. 3. 15th August 1609 to roth November 1614. 4. 4th January 1621 to 22nd December 1630. 5. 22nd December 1630 to 22nd February 1642. 6. 7th May 1656 to 9th December 1665. 7. 8th January 1677 to 4th October 1689. 8. 14th January 1690 to 24th February 1709. 9. 6th April 1709 to nth November 1729. 10. 13th May 1720 to 10th…]]> The contents of these two volumes have been supplied from the Minute-Book, and the dates are printed in italics. A separate Register was kept at Haddington from 22nd June 1652 to 1 2th December 1657. These Testaments which are not recorded in strict chronological order, have the letter H. prefixed to their date, and will be found in Volume 66, Part II. A number of Testaments are also recorded out of order at the end of Volume 45.]]> The Editor, as is common in all Indexes to Highland Records, has met with the difficulty of indexing the Gaelic Patronymics. As it has been felt impossible to devise any principle upon which to arrange these, they are given in chronological order at the end of the alphabetical list. For the benefit of Southerners, it may here be explained that the words neyn, tieik, nein, neen, mean daughter of ; mac, vie {tnhic son of ; boy, buy, yellow ; roy, red ; mor, voir, big ; vayne, fair ; duy, black ; oig, young ; and beg, little.]]> A few pre-Reformation Testaments for this district will be found in the Glasgow Commissariot. The only other Record preserved in the Lord Clerk-Register's Department pertaining to this Commissariot is an Act Book for the years 1678 to 1718.]]> The Record is contained in eight volumes as follows :— 1. 27th June 1661 to 24th July 1675. 2. 1 st March 1705 to 28th June 1749. 3. 7th December 1726 to 19th February 1738. 4. 29th May 1738 to 9th March 1753. 5. 25th May 1754 to 1st September 1769. 6. 1 6th July 1 76 1 to 28th October 1802. 7. 4th Nov. 1802 to 19th September 1820. 16th January 1821 to 17th September 1823.]]> The Commissary appears to have made a very complete perambulation through his district during the period included in this Index, visiting each parish and making up inventories of the various defuncts. No estate seems to have been too small to escape furnishing its quota to the Commissary's fees. In an Appendix will be found the lists of persons summoned to account for the estates of defuncts in certain parishes. The various volumes of Inventories comprise the following dates : 10 July 1693 to 28 July 1693; 26 July 1693 to 7 November 1698 25…]]> The contents of these volumes have been supplied from the Minute-Book, and the dates are printed in italics. A separate Register was kept at Haddington from 22nd June 1652 to 12th December 1657. These Testaments, which are not recorded in strict chronological order, have the letter H. prefixed to them and will be found in Volume 66, Part II. A number of Testaments are also recorded out of order at the end of Volume 45.]]> The Register of Testaments in the Lord Clerk-Register's department is comprised in the following volumes :— 1. 18th November 1674 to 5th April 1678. 2. 5th August 1684 to 30th August 1686. 3. 1st September 1686 to 7th May 1695. 4. 1 2th July 1693 to 29th July 1693. 5. 28th July 1705 to November 1710. 6. 6th June 1707 to 10th March 17 10. 7. 3rd March 171 1 to 5th November 17 16. 8. 2nd March 171 1 to 1 6th January 1734. 9. 25th July 1731 to November 1750. 10. July 175 1 to 1759. 11. 28th January 1734 to 15th March 1779. 12. 15th March…]]> The Testaments of the different islands are recorded in groups, according as the Commissary perambulated the same, holding his courts throughout the different parishes. For the sake of convenience, those of Shetland have been arranged in a separate Index from Orkney. The lists show in a marked manner how, by the seventeenth century, names in Orkney had departed from the Norwegian system of patronymics in favour of those of places, while in Shetland the practice, which can hardly even yet be said to be extinct, of calling the son from his father's…]]> There is no Register of Testaments previous to 17th March 1809, when a Record of Confirmations begins, and is continued till 20th December 1823. There exists a number of papers relating to Executries, consisting of Scroll Testaments, Inventories, Edicts, Bonds of Caution, &c., from, the year 1663. These are arranged in bundles under their different years, and all down to 1800 are included in this Index. The other Records preserved in the Register House are Processes, 1665 to 1823, with Index. Record of Inventories, 1809 to 1823, with Index.…]]> The District comprised within this Commissariot was the County ofDumfries and the following Parishes in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright:—Colvend, Kirkbean, Kirkpatrick Durham, Kirkpatrick-Irongray, Lochrutton, New Abbey, Terregles, and Troqueer.]]>